CRUXIssue 50 April 2020Church for a different world

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EASTER GREETINGS

Church for a different world

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Easter 2020 will be celebrated around the world against the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak. Events move too quickly for me to anticipate what measures will be in place in church and beyond by the time you are reading this. What are I hope constant, are the overarching principles, contained in the Anglican Five Marks of Mission, that guide the way we respond.

Firstly, we are committed to loving service in our communities. That means acting in ways that reduce the chance of our infecting others, as well as seeking to keep ourselves safe. Already some changes have taken place as to how we act around the Communion table and at The Peace. Other changes to our worship practices may follow. It also means being ready to lend a hand to those who are isolated through illness, in practical matters such as shopping for essentials.

Secondly, the Five Marks commit us to justice. We may need to add our voices to those asking for national support for households put at serious financial risk or disadvantage because of being unable to earn their living.

Lastly, they commit us to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Almost all viruses are benign, some of them necessary for human flourishing. Chance mutations that cause disease, and sometimes death, are no disproof of a loving God. Instead, through Holy Week and into Easter, we proclaim the Christ who himself suffered and died, and who God raised again in assurance of our own eternal destiny.

The material for use in times of pestilence contained in the Book of Common Prayer may appear anachronistic, but the truth it conveys, that God journeys with us through times of suffering and peril, is as true today as ever.

For the latest Coronavirus guidance for churches, visit the National Church website at https://tinyurl.com/rptosdc

Roof alarm grants – protecting churches from metal theft

Allchurches Trust’s Roof Protection Scheme provides grants to help churches install roof alarms in response to metal theft, which continues to be a very challenging issue across the UK.

The scheme has been extended until the end of 2020 and the amount of funding available has been increased, with grants now funding up to 50% of the cost of the alarm, up to a maximum of £2500.

For further information and to apply visit https://tinyurl.com/uhrud2n

David Walker Bishop of Manchester

THE FIVE MARKS OF MISSION: AS PERTINENT AS EVER

ROOF ALARM GRANTS

ROOF ALARM GRANTS

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SETTING GOD’S PEOPLE FREE - FAITH JOURNEYSLiving out the Good News of Jesus confidently in all of life, Sunday to Saturday.

A little while ago, I was attending a meeting for Lay Chairs and an item to be discussed was the document ‘Setting God’s People Free’. We were asked, “Who has spoken about their Christian Faith to another person in the past week”? To our shame, not one of us had.

There are, at times, issues that we may feel uncomfortable about exploring, or certain questions that we are nervous about asking. This can also be the case when talking about our own faith.

At that meeting I explained that I used to work for the Samaritans and that we always had to explore the ‘Suicide Question’ with anyone who contacted us, whether by telephone or face-to-face. And that question was ‘do you feel like / are you considering taking your own life?’ New Samaritan volunteers found this very daunting. So, in our training sessions we practised asking the ‘Suicide Question’ in a role-play context. This was done in a one-to-one situation, with an experienced volunteer playing the caller. We continued this until the new volunteers were competent and confident in talking to contacts and asking this difficult question.

I suggested that in a church setting, amongst supportive fellow Christians, we might practise talking about our faith to others until we were able to do it much more easily and with confidence.

It was suggested that I set up a session where this idea could be explored. At the next Synod, I explained the plan. It was important to stress that everyone has a different experience in their own faith journey. For some, it might be like Paul’s on the road to Damascus. For others, it will be a gradual, growing realisation of Christ.

With some trepidation, I told of my Faith Journey, then asked members to break into twos and share their own experiences. I then asked them to go into groups of four and repeat the exercise. Finally, I asked if anyone would be brave enough to address the whole group. Three people did so, at some cost and it was very moving.

Some weeks after, I repeated this ‘exercise’ with my own church and, more recently, in another smaller setting. People have found it to be a very useful tool in sharing their faith with others.

Henry Hope - Rochdale Lay Chair

Church for a different world

‘THE TRAVELLERS’ CHRISTIAN WRITING GROUP‘The Travellers’ is a new Manchester group for folk wishing to write creatively from a Christian perspective.

We are affiliated to the Association of Christian Writers and though feeling our way at the moment, we hope to include members’ writings, visiting speakers and writing projects in our future programme. New members of any Christian denomination and at any stage of creative writing, will be really welcomed. For further information, please email Andrea Sarginson: andrea.sarginson@googlemail.com

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Monday 25 May

This year’s Manchester and Salford Whit Walks will take place on Bank Holiday Monday 25 May.

The procession will leave Cathedral Gardens at 10am and this year we will process to St Peter’s Square for an Act of Worship, before returning to Manchester Cathedral.

The preacher will be Sister Maureen Murphy from the Franciscan Missionaries of St Joseph. If you haven’t taken part in the Walks before or in recent years, why not join us this year?

If you are interested in participating in the Walks please contact the Revd Canon Daniel Burton to register your parish: ashworthburton@hotmail.com The registration fee is £80 per benefice. The fee goes towards covering the cost of the event. Please see back page for programme.

MANCHESTER & SALFORD WHIT WALKS

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MAN OF GLASSThe journey towards seeing my first novel in print.

Essentially, Man of Glass is about a stained-glass window apprentice whose life is drastically changed in 1349 when a great pestilence arrives at his village in East Yorkshire.

My journey from the beginning of my novel to publishing has been a long one, taking many roads – historical research, publishing, developing the plot, the act of writing for hours, publishing, etc. The road that has taken me by surprise has been the faith one. I didn’t start out to write an overtly Christian novel. I just wanted to write about the first wave of the Black Death as it affected the life of a family. Yet I was inspired by a long abandoned medieval village in East Yorkshire with an existing ruined church, and a ruined Cistercian abbey.

There are three principal characters: the naive apprentice, a newly qualified doctor of medicine and an elderly, cynical priest. Their lives intermingle as the pestilence gets ever nearer. I now realise that my own interests are tied up in these characters namely, the histories of stained glass, medicine and the church, all seen through works of art and spirituality. Now I know spirituality is a difficult word, but I take it to mean the feeling that something else exists outside ourselves, something greater and loving. I wrote from an unconscious Christian, spiritual perspective that I now realise is the cohesive element of my novel. How much was actually inspired by faith? I can’t tell but the Christian publishing house of Instant Apostle accepted it so I guess it must have been a fair amount.

Finding a publisher was hard. I kept changing the novel to suit what I thought publishers wanted. I felt no-one would accept the straightforward Christian basis of my writing - not preachy but faith confronting church rules, the science of medicine, the persistence of superstition, untimely death, the blame game, the confusion of the young, love, redemption. In short – human nature and its reaction to fear and tragedy.

I had almost given up when I came across Instant Apostle in the Association of Christian Writer’s magazine. They accepted my manuscript but it had to change; it had to comply with printing needs and house rules; all biblical quotes had to be from one version, and content not too raunchy, for instance. The changes felt comfortable for me – Christian I suppose. The rest is history!

Andrea Sarginson ALM Man of Glass is available in shops and online at £8.99 rrp. and from andrea.sarginson@googlemail.com for £4.50 plus p&p.

CRUX April 2020

RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE2020 has already been a busy year environmentally, not just because of January’s scorching wild fires in Australia or February’s record rainfall in the UK, but also General Synod’s momentous decision to respond to the climate emergency by setting the Church of England the challenge of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

Such energy for environmental mission is reflected in Manchester’s own 2020-2030 strategy, a vision that sees of all our churches registered as eco churches and our diocese awarded eco-diocese status by 2030. We currently have 63 churches registered, with nine holding bronze or silver awards. Has your church registered and applied for an award yet?

To support and encourage us on this journey, the diocese’s new Environment Working Group met for the first time in March, and, earlier in the year, Manchester was one of four dioceses to trial the Church of England’s new energy audit tool, enabling all parishes in the country to begin to measure carbon consumption. There is a clear correlation between systematically measuring and then steadily reducing carbon emissions. This new tool should soon be available online for all parishes to use.

As 2020 unfolds we have several events in Manchester where we can learn more about the challenges and opportunities that present themselves as we ‘strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew the face of the earth’ (the Anglican Communion’s 5th Mark of Mission)

On Saturday 2 May at Cross Street Unitarian Chapel, Manchester, Christian Aid are hosting a Climate Justice Campaign Kick-Off event creating hope-filled action and drawing attention to the global truth that people living in poverty are often at the forefront of climate breakdown. Join with others from the church community to hear stories from the Global South, spend time in prayer and worship, and explore Christian Aid’s new campaign – New Deal for Climate Justice. Refreshments will be provided. To register go to https://tinyurl.com/yxy77p8d

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Church for a different world

On Saturday 18 July, just before the start of the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, where climate change will have a particularly prominent place, we will be holding our own climate change conference at Trinity High School in Manchester 10am-1.30pm. This is a rare and important opportunity to hear directly from bishops from Africa, Asia, Australia and North America about how climate change is affecting their countries. Booking details will be available shortly.

CREATIONTIDE (1 September – 4 October) remains a wonderful opportunity to explore opportunities to share environmental mission, not least with local schools. Our church schools often have lively and successful eco-school committees. What might we learn from them? In Creationtide this year, all churches are encouraged to keep 6 September as Climate Sunday. Watch out for more information about this.

Later in the autumn, we will be holding an ecumenical Eco Church gathering in Manchester, badged as ‘working together towards net zero’. There will be speakers from AROCHA Eco Church, workshops and a chance to learn from other churches engaging in environmental mission. Acting prophetically, with a purpose, and in partnership, are all written into our environment policy. This day is designed to help you marry the three.

Finally, as you may have seen in the national news, in November, there is a global gathering in Glasgow, with delegates from all nations and interested parties coming together at COP26 to redouble our efforts to limit global warming. Many are planning a pilgrimage there, for as Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has written earlier this year: ‘Responding to climate change is an essential part of our responsibility to safeguard God’s creation’.

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CELEBRATING GOD’S LOVE TOGETHER

On Wednesday 12 February, 27 of Bolton’s CE Primary and Secondary Schools came together to celebrate the love of God.

Bolton Parish Church hosted a ‘Market Place Event’, organised by the Board of Education’s Children Changing Places Project. The CCPP team supports schools across Bolton in their ‘Ethos’ (faith groups), worship teams and chaplaincy.

Student ‘Ethos’ representatives, along with their teachers, came to the event to share ideas and faith resources with each other. It was a joyous morning of music, games and an insightful sermon from the Rt Revd Mark Davies, Bishop of Middleton. It was felt by many to be a ‘truly magnificent event’.

Bolton Parish Church provided a fitting and wonderful setting for the occasion. Students, teachers and clergy alike were greeted warmly by The Revd Canon Dr Chris Bracegirdle, The Revd Moira Slack, Canon John Walsh and the Bolton Parish team.

Susie Mapledoram (MBE Youth Officer) and Connor Harmsworth got the ball rolling, and before the service had even begun, attendees were singing and ‘Mexican-waving’ in the name of God’s Love.

Several schools took part in the service, including an incredible dramatised reading from St Stephen and All Martyrs’ CE Primary School, as well as a performance from the St Bartholomew’s CE Primary School choir.

Children Changing Places Project runs its first Market Place Event

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Each school had space to showcase its work and activities. Students hosted their own stalls, leading others in prayerful (sometimes edible) activities such as key-ring making, stone decorating, biscuit icing and even dunking heart-shaped strawberries into a chocolate fountain!

The theme of God’s Love was prevalent in everyone’s displays and their hard work and enthusiasm evident in every brightly coloured memento each young person was able to take home with them. It was a unique opportunity for students to interact with people of all different ages and backgrounds, united by a common ethos.

The Market Place Event fuelled not only young people, but teachers and clergy as well, with inspiration to dream bigger in the vision they have for their youth groups and schools. The resources schools provided for each other covered everything, from Collective Worship to Prayer Space ideas; all easily replicable and engaging for children and young people.

The CCPP team has already felt the excitement of the momentum built from just that one morning, seeing the influence of passionate children, young people and teachers echo throughout their Ethos groups, wider schools and churches.

To all those involved in the preparations, who came along or offered your support on the day - the CCPP team, on behalf of the Board of Education, would like to say a huge thank you for all of your hard work. In particular, thank you to Jill Pilling, CEO of the Bolton and Farnworth Multi Academy Trust, for inspiring, and actively supporting, the event.

To keep up to date on all the new things the CCPP team get up to, follow them on Twitter using the handle @placesproject

Children Changing Places Project runs its first Market Place Event

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I loved the bit with the reading, when they read it again and again and it got bigger and bigger, and then they really built it up, then they made into that beautiful cross. It was so powerful, that spoke loads to me. I’ve drawn it on my hand!

Student

Church for a different world

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While the overall number of people with mental health problems has not changed significantly in recent years, it appears that how people cope with these problems is getting worse as the number of those who self-harm or have suicidal thoughts is increasing.

Recognising this, the diocese, in partnership with Greater Together Manchester, is offering training in mental health focusing on either youth (aged 8-18) or adults (over 18).

The courses are led by Amy Sixsmith (Diocesan Mental Wellbeing Youth Worker) and Craig Savage (GTM Night Shelter Coordinator) – both are trained instructors in Mental Health First Aid.

Both courses, run over two days, are designed to train you in how to support yourself and others in mental health and wellbeing, initial help, and guidance towards appropriate support.

Each course provides an in-depth understanding of specific mental health issues that people might experience and is delivered in four key sections:

• What is mental health and wellbeing?• Depression and anxiety• Suicide and psychosis• Self-harm and eating disorders

Completing one of the two-day courses for Adults or Youth qualifies you as a Mental Health First Aider for the age group.

If you are interested in learning how to support the mental health of the young people or adults you work with and accessing this training, we are delivering a number of courses across the upcoming year. Training dates vary so please do get in touch with the relevant person (below).

Alternatively, if you would be interested in hosting a training course within your setting then please do also get in touch to discuss this further.

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID

Amy Sixsmithamysixsmith@

manchester.anglican.org 0161 828 145607384 254262

Craig Savagenightshelter@

greatertogether manchester.org 0161 828 140007591 203345

For Youth Mental Health

First Aid

For Adult Mental Health

First Aid

Recent statistics indicate that in the UK, one in four people will experience a mental health problem each year; and in England, one in six people report experiencing a common mental health problem (such as anxiety and depression) in any given week.

TEACH US TO PRAY

Based on previous events in the Diocese, a ‘School of Prayer’ was held on the Saturday before Lent at St Barnabas Clarksfield, in the East Oldham Deanery attracting interest and expertise across five deaneries.

Participants were able to choose three from six prayer workshops on offer: The Jesus Prayer, Praying with Children, Breathing Space (meditative prayer), Lectio Divina, Praying with Icons and Imaginative Ignatian Prayer.

Linda, one of the congregation at Holy Trinity Waterhead, said, “What an amazing day it was. Meeting such warm and friendly people from our sister churches including Middleton and Rochdale. The atmosphere seemed to me to be one of anticipation and excitement.”

All the workshop leaders brought examples and aids to use in the sessions. This certainly helped you to look at your prayers in a different way. I for one had never thought of using an icon to help me in my prayers.

In ‘Breathing Space’ initially we talked about how busy life is today, made even more so, because of technology. We are bombarded by visual and aural stimulation constantly. Then we were asked to not talk to anyone but occupy ourselves in a way that would bring us closer to God for twenty minutes. There were many different ways offered to us to do this, for example a jigsaw. You wouldn’t usually connect prayer with a jigsaw would you?

In the Jesus Prayer workshop we were shown how to make a prayer rope and an explanation of the many ways it is used. I have to be honest here and admit that I did not know the ‘Jesus Prayer’, even though I have often prayed with beads.

A free simple soup lunch was on offer during a short break for lunch, and the morning ended with Taizé style worship. From the comments and feed-back offered it is clear that there is an appetite for this kind of spiritual exploration and we are considering how we can offer more of this kind of event in the future. Watch this space!

Revd Jane Hyde

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A serendipitous find on a curate’s bookshelf led to a conversation about prayer, and eventually to the organising of a morning devoted to exploring different ways to draw closer to God in prayer.

CRUX April 2020

Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.Luke, 11:1

Throughout Lent I’ve been talking quite a lot about one of my favourite icons from Taizé, the Icon of Christ the friend, and suggesting that our Lenten journey is a great opportunity to deepen our friendship with Jesus through prayer, fasting and acts of kindness.

WHAT A WEEK!!

Now we stand on the verge of Holy Week with its invitation to come close to Jesus in the events that brought salvation and joy to the whole world. One of the tremendous joys of every Holy Week is the opportunity to stay close to Jesus, to allow our lives to be touched afresh by His amazing love, revealed in so many different ways as the week unfolds. Let it be a week of renewal, a rekindling of love as we Passover with Jesus from death to life, from darkness to light.

Our celebration of Easter is the high point of our life as a Christian community. With Christians the world over we proclaim across our diocese the greatest truth the world has ever known – the tomb is empty, Christ has conquered death and has opened wide the gates of heaven. Christ having been raised from the dead will never die again. He is alive!!

That truth changes everything – how we live, the things we do and say, the things that we long to see for our world and those communities of which we are part, for those we love and cherish. It also changes how we die as even now

we share in Christ’s life and have, in Him, the pledge and promise of eternal life. We know that death can never have the final word – that belongs to God.

On the evening of that first Easter day, the Risen Lord Jesus came to those first disciples and entered into their fear and brokenness, into their failure and the complexity of their lives. The same is true for us this Easter as the same Lord Jesus draws close to us and enters into the diversity and complexity of our lives. He comes to us with the same Easter greeting that transformed those first disciples and continues to transform lives today: “Peace be with you”. This is both gift and greeting from the Risen Lord to His people – to you and me this Holy Week and Easter.

My prayer for us all is that through our walking with Jesus and with each other this Holy Week, the gift of friendship will indeed be renewed within us and that the light of Christ, risen and triumphant, will continue to shine out, filling our lives and the whole of creation with our Easter joy.

Mark Davies, Bishop of Middleton

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Church for a different world

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The Rt Revd Jonathan Ruhumuliza, who currently holds Permission to Officiate in the Diocese of Worcester, has been appointed to the three year post of Interim Minister at Astley Tyldesley and Mosley Common.

The Revd Canon Falak Sher, currently Incumbent of St. Werburgh Chorlton-cum-Hardy and Priest-in-Charge of The Ascension Hulme, has been appointed Assistant Curate of The Ascension Lower Broughton (to be known as Pioneer Associate Priest) and Assistant Curate of St. Paul with Christ Church Salford.

The Revd Edith Disley, currently Incumbent of St. Thomas Leesfield is to retire on 31st July 2020.

The Revd Avis Gordon, formerly NSM Curate at Clifton, retired on 29 February 2020.

APPOINTMENTS RETIREMENTS

National Sports Sunday is an invitation to everyone to pray a blessing on the community of sport and see what happens.

So, if you’re dropping a child off, instead of just going, why not be intentional and pray for the community and the families. We’ve all stood on the touch line, but instead of berating the referee can we say a simple prayer, “Lord, where ever you’re at work, can I join in?”

Small things done consistently, acts of kindness open people’s hearts to God, so maybe your church or you can do a BBQ for your local club or even just drop off a bag of oranges. Do something, be intentional and make a difference.

If you’re interested to explore more about prayer across different communities, including sport, then see more on Twitter and Instagram @citycentremcr

NATIONAL SPORT SUNDAY: 17 MAYOne of the biggest weekly gatherings of people in our country is for sport. Sports Chaplaincy UK estimate 30 million children, women and men don’t just turn up and do an activity but are part of a sports community.

We want to hear your thoughts

Send to:Church for a Different World, Diocese of Manchester, Church House,90 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2GH

Thanks for your feedback so far

What would you like to see discussed in a future issue? Continue the conversation

Website:manchester.anglican.orgTwitter:@DioManchesterFacebook:The Diocese of ManchesterEmail: differentworld@manchester.anglican.org

What will we do with your comments?

We will collate all the responses we receive and consider them as we develop our plans and priorities for the diocese.

We will not be able to provide individual responses, but we will provide updates in CRUX on how your feedback is shaping Church for a different world.

HOW CAN WE CONTINUE TO REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT?

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SMALL ADVERTS WANTED: VINYL RECORD COLLECTIONS We pay the best prices for Rock & Pop record collections (sorry, no Classical) in excellent condition from smoke free homes. Please call Mark (practicing Christian) on 0161 798 4992 or 07717 648 349

PALM SUNDAY CHORAL EVENSONG: STAND CHORALE II, directed by Richard Fairclough, sing the legendary ‘Miserere’ by Allegri on Sunday 5 April at 6pm. Followed by a wine reception. Find us at All Saints Stand, Whitefield M45 7NF

SWALEDALE COTTAGE sleeps 6 min, easy terms for diocesan members, 2 hours from Manchester. Tel. 07932 160 009 or mhaworth50@hotmail.com for full details.

LAKE DISTRICT HOLIDAY LET A well-appointed and equipped 2 bedroom apartment in Bowness with parking and garage. Offering a balcony with views of Lake Windermere. www.swallowsrest.org For more information call 07719 966990; email info@swallowsrest.org

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WHAT’S ON THIS MONTH AT MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL?STAINED GLASS TOUR Sunday 26 April, 2pm

The history of Manchester Cathedral through stained glass.

Manchester & Salford

Whit Walks 2020

An Ecumenica l Walk o f Witness  

9.30am Assemble in Cathedra l Gardens10am Process ion to St Peter ' s Square10.45am Act of worship - preacher Sister Maureen Murphy FMSJ11.30am Return process ion to Manchester Cathedra l

Spr ing Bank Ho l iday Monday , 25th May